1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to access, maintain, and troubleshoot services over a single digital subscriber line (DSL) through a unified interface.
2. Acronyms
The written description provided herein contains acronyms which refer to various telecommunications services, components and techniques, as well as features relating to the present invention. Although some of these acronyms are known, use of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposes of the written description herein, acronyms will be defined as follows:                Application Service Provider (ASP)        Broadband Capabilities Gateway (BCG)        Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)        Graphical User Interface (GUI)        Internet Service Provider (ISP)        Multi-Application Service (MAS)        Network Service Provider (NSP)        Virtual Private Network (VPN)        
3. Description of Background Information
Many telecommunications carriers offer DSL service to bring high-speed connectivity over ordinary copper telephone lines (twisted pair) to homes and businesses. With DSL, digital data is transmitted to a computer without converting the data into analog and then back to digital, which permits a much wider to be employed. Additionally, the signal can be separated so that some of the data is used to transmit an analog signal, allowing the telephone and computer to be used simultaneously. With DSL Internet service, subscribers can browse the Internet, connect to a corporate network via a virtual private network (VPN), play games, listen to music, stream videos, or watch movies. A DSL Internet service connection permits the sharing of the DSL with other personal computers (PCS) in the same home or office. Today, many homes have DSL service so that the subscribers can access a corporate LAN at their place of employment via a VPN.
A VPN is a private data network that makes use of the public Internet, while maintaining security through the use of a tunneling protocol. Essentially, data traffic destined for a remote location is first encapsulated and encrypted prior to being transmitted over the Internet to the remote site. For end users, it appears to be a single private network; however, the public Internet is employed to securely transport data traffic between destinations. The idea behind the VPN is to give companies the same capabilities as with a private network, but at a much lower cost.
DSL subscribers may also access the Internet by a conventional Internet Service Provider (ISP), giving the subscribers a range of options. It would be desirable to have a unified user interface permitting the subscriber to manage multiple types of Internet connections and services.
Typically, user interfaces require multiple applications or screens to manage connectivity and service selection processes. Implementations that involve multiple applications impose greater cognitive demands upon the user, increasing the likelihood of making errors. For instance, a user may not know which application to access to perform a certain function. Confusion on the part of the user may lead to attempting to use the wrong application to perform a specified function. Further, a user may not be aware of available functions on some of the more infrequently accessed applications. Thus, a user is likely to build an erroneous mental model that does not match the family of available applications. All of these factors induce customer frustration and dissatisfaction. As a result, customers may be less likely to use the service. This may also result in an increase in calls to a customer help desk. Moreover, in some instances a technician may have to be dispatched to the customer's location.
It would be desirable to have a unified interface that integrates access, maintenance, and troubleshooting functionality for a variety of connections and services. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art.